Paulson Adds Goldman Sachs, Other Financial Stakes

Hedge fund manager John Paulson continued to add to his holdings in the U.S. financial services industry with new stakes in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), mortgage insurer PMI Group Inc. (PMI) and regional bank Popular Inc. (BPOP).

Paulson, who runs Paulson & Co., reported in a quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that he added a new position with 30 million Bank of America Corp. (BAC) warrants, increased his holdings in common stock of Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) by 4.5 million shares to 17.5 million, and raised his holdings in Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (HIG) by more than 31 million shares to 44 million.

But Paulson reported reducing its stake in CIT Group Inc. (CIT) by just over one million shares, to 3.3 million.

Paulson was among the first big hedge fund managers to build a stake in banks late last year, reversing course after winning big in betting against subprime mortgages during the financial meltdown. Last year, for example, he bought Citigroup Inc. (C) stock and continues to hold more than 500 million shares.

Over the last three months, Paulson bought 1.1 million Goldman Sachs shares, more than 66 million shares in Puerto Rico bank Popular, and 5 million shares in PMI.

Paulson maintained his holdings in gold companies, and added a variety of sectors to his portfolio, including 5 million shares in McClatchy Co. (MNI) and 8 million shares in Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. (BEE). He increased his stake in large drug maker Pfizer Inc. (PFE) by 7.2 million shares, to 22.8 million, but reduced his holdings in Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) by more than 19 million shares, to 80 million.

Paulson added several other companies in healthcare and technology, including stakes in inVentiv Health Inc. (VTIV), Mylan Inc. (MYL) and Odyssey Healthcare Inc. (ODSY).

-By Matthias Rieker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2471; [e-mail]